155. Etharkkum Thunindhavan; movie review

 

ETHARKKUM THUNINDHAVAN

Cert 15

150 mins

BBFC advice: Contains sexual violence, strong bloody violence, domestic abuse, suicide

Wow. The climax of Etharkkum Thunindhavan is among the most riveting of 2022 so far.

Shame that Pandiraj's movie takes such a long time to find its focus.

This is a vehicle for Tamil superstar Suriya who is surprisingly painted as an horrific murderer in the opening scenes.

The movie then moves into the past to discover why his character literally has blood on his hands.

Suriya plays Kannabiran, a lawyer who lives with his mother (Saranya Ponvannan) and father (Sathyaraj).

He becomes a defender of women and girls who have found themselves victim of a village feud and the the movie's villain (Vinay Rai).

Meanwhile, he makes a move on a beautiful young woman (Priyanka Arul Mohan) who becomes his bride.

This is the element which grated for me. Again, we are led to believe another actor in his mid-40s should behave like a lovesick teenager to lure a girl in her 20s.

Anyway, the principled lawyer has to fight against corruption at every turn, eventually ends in a head-to-head with Rai's bad guy.

The latter is arguably more impressive than the film's hero. He hams it up as his character becomes violent, vindictive and utterly merciless.

I'm not sure whether Suriya was happy to have some of his thunder stolen but he hits back with some scintillating scenes of his own at the movie's climax.

Either way, it appears that will be another outing as Kannabiran. I just wonder what else he can bring after that spectacular finale.

Reasons to watch: Ultra-dramatic last 20 minutes

Reasons to avoid: Takes such a long time to find its way

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? Before his career in films, Suriya worked at a garment exports factory.

The final word. Suriya: "If relatives come to our house, we ask the girl to give them water. We do not ask the boy to do that. Small little things like this are discussed here. In the same way, people tell the wives to adjust if minor differences crop up with husbands. The director included such sensitive issues in the movie." Pink Villa

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